GLAAD’s 20 Under 20 list honors young LGBTQ people, ages 20 and under, who are accelerating acceptance of LGBTQ people while shaping the future of media and activism. GLAAD’s 20 Under 20 list is presented by Google, with Official Sponsors UGG® and Shutterfly.
Announced in June 2021, the second annual 20 Under 20 list features a diverse collection of young changemakers, including: Amiri Nash, Andrea Alejandra Gonzales, Andrew Adams, Ashton Mota, Austin Houck, Cyn Gómez, Darid Prom, Eli Bundy, Gia Parr, JoJo Siwa, Kaylyn Ahn, Max Prestigiacomo, Molly Pinta, mxmtoon, Onyx (E. Smith), Soleil Wheeler a.k.a. Ewok, Stella Keating, Trevor Wilkinson, Ve’ondre Mitchell, and Yasmin Finney.
The 20 Under 20 list was launched via Teen Vogue, featuring in-depth profiles about each honoree’s work, as well as individual portraits captured on the Google Pixel 5 by Mayan Toledano of Pixel’s Creator Labs. Check out the full 20 Under 20 list here.
GLAAD's Second Annual 20 Under 20 List
Amiri Nash, he/him, 19
Artist/Activist/Writer
Andrea Alejandra Gonzales, they/she, 20
Community Organizer/Educator
Andrew Adams, he/him, 20
Student/Activist
Ashton Mota, he/him, 16
Student/Activist
Austin Houck, he/him, 20
Student/Activist
Cyn Gómez, they/them/elle, 18
Student/Activist
Darid Prom, any pronouns, 20
Student/Activist/Community Organizer
Eli Bundy, they/them, 17
Student/Activist
Gia Parr, she/her, 17
Student/Activist
JoJo Siwa, she/her, 18
Popstar
Kaylyn Suji Ahn, she/they, 17
Student/Activist
Max Prestigiacomo, he/him, 19
Student/Community Organizer/Politician
Molly Pinta, she/her, 15
Student/Activist
mxmtoon, she/her, 20
Artist/Singer-Songwriter/Actor
Onyx (E. Smith), they/them, 19
Student/Activist
Soleil Wheeler a.k.a Ewok, he/him, 15
Professional Streamer
Stella Keating, she/her, 16
Student/Activist
Trevor Wilkinson, he/him, 18
Student/Activist
Ve’ondre Mitchell, she/her, 17
Social Influencer/Activist
Yasmin Finney, she/her, 17
Actress
Zolita (she/her) is an independent pop artist and filmmaker from Los Angeles whose music blends R&B and dark pop, and lyrically draws on her experiences as a queer woman. She graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the arts with a degree in film, and uses music videos as her artivist medium of choice. She has built a loyal fanbase and widespread industry respect through her self-directed and produced music videos which collectively have over 20 million views. She is known for a distinctly LGBTQ feminist message and witchy aesthetic, which has resonated with young people around the world. As a Rising Stars recipient, Zolita created and released her most recent music video “Truth Tea.â€
JoJo (she/her) is a global popstar and one of the most influential teenagers in the world, with over 45 million social media followers across platforms. In early 2021, JoJo came out as a member of the LGBTQ community and continues to use her platform to promote necessary messages of LGBTQ acceptance and equality.
Andrea (they/she) is a Mestiza queer activist and organizer, currently working as the Director of Operations for Youth Over Guns and an Instructor through New Yorkers Against Gun Violence Education Fund's school program, ReACTION.
Ashton (he/him) is a GenderCool Project Champion who is well known for being a public face for the "Yes on 3" movement in Massachusetts, which successfully upheld a law allowing people to use restrooms and public facilities that align with their gender identity.
Austin (he/him) is the founder of Homoglobin, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing queer equality in healthcare and education, which was instrumental in helping to pass HB 916 in Virginia in 2020.
Cyn (they/them/elle) is a LGBTQ and mental health activist who serves as a member of the Mental Health America's Youth Leadership Council, an ambassador for the Tangible Movement, and a Commissioner on Homelessness for the City of Berkeley.
Gia (she/her) is a GenderCool Project Champion who uses her platform to educate the public about trans youth. In addition to guest starring in season 2 of Pose, she recently released a book titled, “A Kids Book About Being Transgender,” which helps start conversations between children, parents, and familiies about what it’s like to be a young trans person.
Molly (she/her) is a bisexual student and activist who founded a nonprofit called The Pinta Pride Project to increase LGBTQ awareness within suburban communities in Illinois. She also launched her town’s first-ever Pride celebration in 2019 and served as the Youth Grand Marshal of the 2019 Chicago Pride Parade.
Max (he/him) is a student, community organizer, and politician who was elected to the Madison Common Council in April 2020, becoming the youngest elected official in the country and the youngest ever to sit on the Madison Common Council. He also became one of the first LGBTQ candidates ever elected in Madison.
mxmtoon (she/her) is a bisexual artist, songwriter, actor, designer, and gamer with over 2.9 million social media followers. Well known for playing the ukulele and her unique bedroom pop anthems, including her hit single prom dress, mxmtoon’s music has been streamed over 500 million times across platforms.
Trevor (he/him) is an openly gay student from Texas who, after being suspended from his high school for wearing nail polish, successfully influenced his school administration to adopt a gender-neutral dress code policy following the launch of a petition signed by over 400,000 supporters.
Ewok (he/him) is a professional Fortnite player who is part of the FaZe Clan, and recently signed an exclusive streaming deal with Twitch, where he has over 346,000 followers. On National Coming Out Day in 2020, Ewok publicly disclosed that he is transgender and bisexual, becoming the first transgender man in the T1 esports organization.
Stella (she/her) is a GenderCool Project Champion and aspiring politician who made history by becoming the first transgender teen to testify in front of the U.S. Senate when she spoke during a hearing on the Equality Act in March 2021.
Ve’ondre (she/her) is a Black and Latinx transgender social media star who uses her platform to amplify conversations about trans inclusion and representation to her more than 3.6 million followers across TikTok and Instagram. In 2021, she was nominated for the first-ever “TikTok Queer Advocate of the Year” award at the 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards.
Yasmin (she/they) is a rising Black British trans actress who rose to prominence on TikTok with videos sharing her experience as a Black trans woman. She is set to star as the lead role in Orion Pictures’ coming-of-age film What If?, directed by Billy Porter, as well as in Netflix’s upcoming series Heartstopper.
Shayna Maci Warner (she/her/hers) is an enthusiastically queer artist and scholar graduating from UCLA this June with a major in World Arts and Cultures, and a minor in Film. She is the managing editor of OutWrite Newsmagazine, an Assistant Programmer for Outfest Los Angeles, and a documentary filmmaker whose first short doc will premiere this spring. The Rising Stars Grant will allow her to expand her print and video interview series ‘The First Time I Saw Myself,' a collaboration with OutWrite Newsmagazine that chronicles individual reactions to LGBTQ story lines in an effort to show the tangible impacts made by missteps and triumphs in queer representation.
Zizi Bandera (they/them) is a queer, trans, Latinx, child of immigrants. Zizi was born and raised in Los Angeles, holds a Master's in Public Policy from Mills College and is the volunteer Director of Immigration Policy for the Oakland LGBTQ+ Center. They are deeply invested in immigrant families and believes they are the catalysts for radical and long-term healing for our LGBTQ+ community. As a Rising Stars recipient, Zizi is thrilled beyond thrilled to partner with Somos Familia, a Bay-area organization, to harness the power of Latinx parents of LGBTQ+ children through a statewide convening.
River Gallo (he/him) is a Salvadoran-American filmmaker, actor, writer, model and intersex advocate from New Jersey. He is a graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts Experimental Theatre Wing and the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts MFA program. "Ponyboi" his USC thesis which he wrote, co-directed, and acted in, is the first narrative film created by and starring an out intersex person in the history of cinema. He is the CEO and co-founder of Gaptoof Entertainment, a multi-media production house in Los Angeles, which focuses on creating inclusive spaces for POC, LGBTQIA+, and womxn narratives. As a Rising Stars recipient, River plans to create a mentorship program to empower LGBTQ youth who are interested in filmmaking and storytelling.
Amiri (he/him) is an artist, activist, writer, and a DC Youth Poet Laureate who co-founded Sign of Justice, a project that creates signs in predominantly white neighborhoods to raise awareness about racial injustice and other social issues.
Onyx (they/them) is a Black, queer, non-binary activist who founded the Central Texas GSA Coalition to enhance the impact of GSAs in the Austin, Texas area. They also created a project called Q+ EDU, an interactive virtual experience designed to connect, inform, and empower LGBTQ and allied students, parents, and educators.
Andrew (he/him) is student and activist from Florida who successfully sued his school board for restricting him from using the men's restroom because he is transgender, becoming the country’s first trial involving a transgender student’s equal access to restrooms.
Darid (any pronouns) is a queer immigrant who has worked with GLSEN, GLAAD, and multiple nonprofits to promote the liberation of LGBTQ people of color, and has testified in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on the impact of anti-LGBTQ bills on LGBTQ youth.
Kaylyn (she/they) is a queer student and activist who organizes monthly projects in their community centered on social justice, advocacy, and community service. Kaylyn spearheaded a "March for Asian Lives" demonstration in Arlington Heights, Illinois to call for an end to anti-Asian hate following the horrific Atlanta shooting in March 2021.
Eli (they/them) is a trans and non-binary student and activist who led their school’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance in successfully striking down South Carolina’s “No Promo Homo” policy, the first time such state law has been abolished by a federal court on constitutional grounds.
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20 Under 20 Honors
20 Under 20 honors are eligible to LGBTQ young people between the ages of 13 and 20 years old who are working to accelerate acceptance for LGBTQ people and have been featured in broad regional or national media. The 20 Under 20 list celebrates the next generation of LGBTQ leaders in media advocacy, including journalists, actors, musicians, students, activists, and other young change agents.
In June 2020, GLAAD announced its inaugural class of 20 Under 20 Honorees, including: Aaron Philip, Alex Escaja, X González, Ezra Greyson Wheeler, Ian Alexander, Jamie Margolin, Jazz Jennings, Joshua Rush, Josie Totah, Kidd Kenn, Lachlan Watson, Leo Rocha, Logan Rozos, Map Pesqueira, Ose Arheghan, Sage Dolan-Sandrino, Sameer Jha, Sarah Rose Huckman, Shannon Li, and Zoey Luna. Check out profiles of the inaugural 20 Under 20 list here.
20 Under 20 Sponsors
